


Rocks And Other Tokens Of Affection

by Linane



Category: The Hobbit (Jackson Movies), The Hobbit - All Media Types
Genre: AU, Actually a teeny bit of angst, Alternate Universe, Fluff, Geology AU, M/M, Modern AU, No sads just fluff, Slice of Life, Unrelated Fíli and Kíli, nerds
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-13
Updated: 2018-02-13
Packaged: 2019-03-17 22:47:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,884
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13668915
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Linane/pseuds/Linane
Summary: Written for the Winter FRE 2017. Prompt 35: FiKi + Sleepy IntimacyThey graduated now and they're trying to get on with their lives. Together. As it should be.





	Rocks And Other Tokens Of Affection

**Author's Note:**

> A continuation of [this work](https://archiveofourown.org/works/8926912/chapters/20500594). It will make more sense if you read the kiss first, though I suppose it could be read as a stand-alone. 
> 
> I started with that last scene, as per the prompt, but then somehow my Muse kept painting me the whole world, complete with flashbacks and things. Some 4k later, I guess we just get an update on how they're doing :)
> 
> I should also mention that I haven't a faintest about actual drilling for oil or indeed anything else, so um, yeah...

 

Fili took a sip of his coffee to go and glared at the car in front of him.

The sun was barely rising, painting the entire vast sky overhead in stunning pinks, purples and gold. It was too early for the interstate to be congested and there was absolutely no reason to be doing 50 mph.

Especially right in front of Fili.

He hit the indicator and effortlessly overtook the offending car in a wide arch.

Better.

On the radio a familiar voice returned after the adverts and Fili turned up the volume.

“A very good morning to all those of you who have only just woken up and tuned in. Rise and shine!” Kili chirped happily, though a tiny noise right at the very beginning told Fili that the love of his life was taking a sip of coffee seconds before coming on air. “You are listening to Radio Roo and this is our _Early Morning Show_.”

“We’ll make sure to ease you gently into full consciousness with some excellent music,” Tauriel, Kili’s co-presenter joined in, “but we’ll also be talking about how to make an award-winning ham and cheese toastie, building your own car from a kit and whether it might be possible to plant a tropical forest in the Sahara!”

Fili would be lying if he said he wasn’t a teeny bit jealous of Tauriel having Kili all to herself in the mornings five days a week, but he supposed he had an incomparably better dibs on Kili’s time overall.

Tauriel was one of those eco-obsessed people – she grew her own fruit and veg, kept bees on the roof of her block and twice a year went away to do various conservation projects. Then again, Fili and Kili were a bit of a ‘rock-obsessed’ people, so in the grand scheme of things the levels of nerdy chatter balanced out pretty well and with some overlaps.

Tauriel was also Kili’s (second) best friend and Fili was grateful at least that Kili got to work with people he liked, especially doing a job he hadn’t planned on doing and was only just getting to grips with.

Quite how Kili ended up as a radio presenter, nobody understood, Kili himself included.

It all started with radio jingles, which Kili would have probably been happy to do for the rest of his life. But then someone phoned in sick and stayed sick for about two weeks, someone else remarked that Kili had a ‘very interesting and engaging voice’ and next thing they knew Kili was on air, covering for the missing staff.

People liked him, with his mischievous sense of humour and boundless enthusiasm when he talked about the things he loved, and so today Kili not only had his _Early Morning Show_ (5:00 – 7:00, Mondays – Fridays), but was also recording a series of quick, 10-minute spots for the afternoon, in which he talked, passionately, about the best places to go for mineral and geode digs.

All this worked brilliantly for Fili, who learned to rise together with Kili (at a truly disturbing 3:30 a.m. – it _had_ to be love) and get a head-start on the traffic, as he drove to wherever his geology and engineering expertise was needed, listening to his favourite voice in the whole wide world along the way.

On the radio Tauriel must have said something funny because Kili laughed his wonderful, deep-chested laughter and Fili felt warmth and affection spread through him from his core.

“And this next song I’d like to dedicate to my fiancé – drive safe,” Kili rumbled in what to Fili sounded like soft pornography voice and the first chords of _For Those About to Rock_ by AC/DC started playing.

Fili grinned and started shamelessly singing along, safe in the knowledge that nobody would hear him in his car.

It was going to be a good day.

 

\---

 

It was too hot in Atlanta at this time of the year and Fili wished he could have stayed down in the shaft, where it was nice and cool.

Unfortunately it was plain for everyone to see that the drill was indeed broken and the bedrock it had hit was quartz-based. They’d need to replace the head and try to go perpendicularly.

He wriggled out of his borrowed overalls and pulled on his soft, white t-shirt instead, not bothering with the jacket he usually wore on top to maintain a look of professionalism. They were all friends here.

“So? What do you think? 8 inch, 10 inch?” Bofur poked his head around the corner just as Fili was trying to wrangle his hair into a high knot using a scrunchie he always kept on his wrist.

“10 inch and I’d try at about 12 – 15 degrees this time. Stop immediately if she starts mulling. With any luck it’s just a pocket, they’re not uncommon in this area. And you didn’t need me here to tell you that,” Fili smiled, padding closer.

“You know the rules, we need your sig for the replacement.” Bofur passed him the clipboard. “Besides, maybe I just wanted to see your groomed little face, ask how your lover-boy is doing!” The teasing about Fili’s neatly-trimmed beard has been endless but good-natured, since Bofur himself was sporting one of those amusing hipster-style moustache, which must have needed a hell of a lot work to stay in shape.

“Kili is just fine, thank you. I believe he’s recording a spot about Morefield Mine today, which you should have the pleasure of hearing at 3:30. He was practically giddy about it last night.”

“Oh, it’s a nice place, and good for a family outing too!” Bofur agreed, walking him to his car. “Where to next?”

“Red Ridge. They wanted me to take a look at some mineral samples, apparently they might be indicative.”

“I hear Marcy made a poppy seed cake yesterday, though whether there’s still any left today, hard to tell. Look malnourished just in case.”

“Will do!” Fili grinned and waved his goodbyes at the friendly miner.

The corporation they worked for might have been operating in 5 different states, but its regional branches were often small, family-ran affairs, which mainly used its structures to help them modernise and every now and then polished up for a big-wigs’ visits.

It was only once he got to the end of the dirt track leading back to the main road that Fili realised that his engagement stone was stuck under his t-shirt. He carefully pulled it out to rest it half way down his chest where it belonged, but paused, taking a moment to admire the beautiful spectacle trapped in the mineral in front of his eyes.

 

\---

 

They were in Vietnam and a part of the much-anticipated expedition aiming to explore and map out the vast cave system of Rao Thuong River. It was their 6th day before they hit yet another corridor branching out and were allowed to explore it on their own. They had enough supplies for 2 more days before they’d have to start heading back, unless they found another exit.

Fili was the first to squeeze through a narrow gap, smoothed over by the water over millennia. He pulled his backpack, helped by Kili pushing it up from below and then leaned down to help pull Kili up the same way.

Kili smiled, his dark eyes sparkling with excitement as he took the offered hand and hauled himself up.

They knew the cavern they have clambered into was big by the sheer echo sound of the running water.

Lots of running water.

For a moment they stood there together, hands clasped in almost-complete darkness, sinking into the moment. Others would have felt terrified, claustrophobic perhaps, among tons and tons of sheer rock and making their way further into the unknown. But not the two of them – they had each other, they had lots of hard-won experience and a deep appreciation for the awesome power of the planet to shape chemicals and material into rocks and gems.

None of which could have prepared them for the sight of a giant waterfall thundering down from above and disappearing into a pool which took up most of the chamber.

“Wow,” Kili breathed as their combined torches followed up the cascade, trying and failing to bring out its top from the darkness. “That’s the most incredible thing I have ever seen,” he murmured and his voice sounded practically reverent, making Fili fall in love with him even more.

He knew in that moment, facing this marvel of nature, that it could only ever be Kili; only Kili was the _right_ person to share these experiences with. It would never stop. He’d never not crave to have Kili beside him as they dug or crawled through the rocks. More than that, he wanted Kili there for the rest of his life.

Fili bit his lip. If ever there was a right moment…

He sank to the floor and started rummaging through his pack, leaving Kili to continue scanning the rock face with the waterfall.

“Remember the super-tall one in Slovenia? How high was that?” Kili asked, moving his light over the other walls of the cavern.

“643m, was the whole cave,” Fili replied distractedly. “Though the waterfall itself was only about 400-odd.”

“So this could be taller.”

“Could be, but I doubt our torches could reach much higher than 30m. We can try the beams later.”

Kili hummed and carefully waded a few feet into the water, trying to see how deep the pool might be.

Fili’s hands shook, as they finally found the little, velvet-lined box he was searching for. He needed his hands to be steady - because of where they were and what he was about to do.

He kneelt, on both knees, because that felt more stable. “Kili.”

“Hmmm?” The brunet waded back to look at Fili and for a moment they both squinted when their head lamps slid over their faces.

“I can’t think of a better place and I’d be a fool not to try and cease the most incredible thing _I_ have ever seen all for myself.” Fili swallowed, then allowed the words to just flow from his heart where they have lived for a very long time. “I’d like to spend my life with you, Kili. Will you marry me?”

Kili’s eyes went almost comically wide in the faint light they had, as his gaze fell on the little box filled with a polished, highest-grade labradorite sparkling seductively in the light of Fili’s torch.

“No,” the love of Fili’s life said, crossing his arms on his chest and pulling his eyebrows into an impressive frown.

“Oh.” Fili felt as if the ground beneath him opened and swallowed him whole. The world spun and Fili sagged, sitting back on his heels.

He’d been _so sure_.

“Just because you’re a couple of years older doesn’t mean you get to do all the best things first!” Kili huffed and moved to his own pack. “I can’t say I’m surprised, but I’m pretty sure _I_ had the idea first, especially since I was the one to find this whole expedition and I checked that it was spectacular with this specific aim in mind.”

It was hard to hear through the thundering sound of water and the rush in Fili’s ears as the thoughts in his head whirled in an insane tornado of what he’d possibly done wrong. He didn’t think Kili would want a ring, but perhaps he was more of a traditionalist than Fili knew. Or perhaps labradorite wasn’t the right stone – he knew it was pretty common after all, but he thought it fitted Kili _perfectly_ and if only Kili took a closer look, he’d notice that it was _absolutely flawless_ and took ages to find. He should have gone for something rarer.

Or perhaps the simple truth was that Fili wasn’t –

“Fili Durin! Will _you_ marry _me_?” The words filtered through and Fili realised that Kili was kneeling in almost exact same position in front of him, something glimmering in the palm of his hand.

“What?!” he blinked.

“ _I’m_ the one proposing here. Will you marry me, Fili?”

His eyes fell on the gem in Kili’s hand. It was a beautiful sunset fire opal, which looked like it captured the very sunlight and clouds inside it. And that was just as much as he could make out in the dim light – in the natural light it must have been breath-taking. It was bound in a simple band of gold and attached to a long, fine golden chain.

“I didn’t think you’d want a ring,” Kili murmured quietly, his eyes searching Fili’s face, unconsciously repeating Fili’s own thoughts. “And I should clarify what I said earlier: I’ll marry you, if you marry me,” he considered, “and if we agree that I was the first one to propose. So what do you say?”

Fili blinked again. “Yes!”

It was as if a storm cloud lifted off Kili’s face. He grinned, clearly pleased with himself.

“Bloody hell, Kili! You nearly gave me a heart attack!” Fili growled, but he was laughing too and somehow there were tears in the corners of his eyes, even though he tried to hold them back. He threw his arms around his best friend, lover and now a… a fiancé and pulled him into a crushing hug. “You are absolutely _evil_! That felt _awful_ and I forbid you from doing it ever again!”

“Just how many times are you planning on proposing, Fee?” Kili laughed into his neck and Fili felt the tears slide down his cheeks now.

“We could turn it into a daily thing. But you are obliged to say ‘yes’ every time and without any stupid complications.”

“I can do that. I’m sorry I did that to you, but I’d been planning it for so long and then I got distracted by the waterfall and you beat me to it. Feels _good_ now though, right?”

“The best,” Fili grinned and pulled the love of his life into a delighted, drunkenly-happy kiss.

They re-surfaced for air several minutes later and Fili felt Kili’s fingers, which had already gotten lost around the back of his head massaging his scalp, now gathering his hair and holding it as much out of the way as his helmet allowed.

“And now you’re mine,” Kili winked, placing the fine chain around Fili’s neck, leaving the stone to sit just short of half way down his chest.

“I can’t believe I didn’t think to turn it into a pendant,” Fili admitted, opening his little box to present the labradorite to Kili once more. “It makes much more sense than hauling a box around with you.”

“Don’t worry,” Kili beamed. “I know a guy.”

 

\---

 

Fili walked through the door of their house with a sense of relief. It was good to be home, especially after the downpour he got caught in on the way back.

“Kili?” he tried, pulling his shoes off and hanging his jacket out to dry.

Silence. All the lights were off too.

He padded through to the kitchen, then the living room, navigating the familiar layout with ease even in the darkness.

He finally found Kili in the bedroom, curled up and fast asleep in their bed. He leaned against the door frame for a moment and watched the dozing figure, a smile on his lips.

It wasn’t unusual for Kili to fall victim to an afternoon nap – he didn’t like getting up extra early any more than the people who listened to his show. Normally Fili simply left him to it, sometimes serving as a convenient couch pillow.

Today though…

Fili considered. What he should have done is gently wake his fiancé up, steal a couple of sleepy kisses if at all possible, make some food for them both and perhaps get started on those mineral samples he hauled home while they chattered.

But then the wind hit the window in a violent gust, making the rain drum delicately against the glass and Fili shivered, remembering the conditions outside all too well.

Kili looked so warm, so inviting in a bed, which Fili knew smelled like home, their fabric conditioner and faintly their combined colognes.

Surely he could just…

He should at least shower, he thought, but dismissed the thought because light and noise would certainly bring Kili out of his comfortable slumber. He’d shower later.

Instead, moving as quietly as possible, Fili changed and slipped under the covers.

He was right; Kili was perfectly toasty and he didn’t seem to wake when Fili pulled him close and snuggled up behind him. He stirred a little and dark eyes might have even blinked sleepily in the darkness, but having found Fili’s hand over his heart and the familiar brush of Fili’s beard on his neck, Kili drifted off once more.

Fili smiled and pressed little feather-like kisses to his skin, feeling himself sink into the warmth and comfort. He marvelled briefly at the perfect creature in his arms, at the fierce heart, and a kind, curious soul that inhabited it, now happily tucked in with Fili for safekeeping.

His blue eyes fluttered closed of their own accord and for a while Fili knew only the sound of the rain battering their garden outside and Kili’s slow breaths.

And then he knew nothing at all.

 

\---

 

He woke because Kili was stirring and Fili was being re-arranged.

“You smell like the outside,” came a sleepy voice as he was rolled flat onto his back so Kili could tuck himself under his chin.

“That’s because I had to get through the outside to get to you,” Fili muttered, still hardly conscious, slowly becoming aware of the rain still battering the windows.

“Mmmm,” Kili acknowledged, now clearly content, having rolled over to the other side. “Did you get caught?” the follow up question came a good 5 minutes later.

 _I did,_ Fili’s drowsy mind composed, _but I don’t mind, because you keep my heart safe and give me more happiness than I know what to do with._

He blinked, sunk his fingers into the mess of chocolate-coloured hair and tried again. “A little,” he settled on.

Kili’s fingers in turn found he hem of his t-shirt and were toying aimlessly with the trail of coarse hair running down from his navel.

The rain continued its soothing song for a while in the comfortable silence between them, as they touched and stroke to their heart’s content. Every now and then one of them shivered a little, half in pleasure, half from the stark contrast between a warm bed and what must have been a truly dreadful weather outside.

Now slightly more conscious, Fili wrapped an arm around Kili, pulled him closer, tried to peer down at him, but they were clearly too close to make anything out, so instead Fili only kissed the top of his head.

Kili gave a pleased little rumble in response. “What time izzit?”

“Half past eight.” Fili squinted at the fluorescent numbers on the face of his sport watch.

His fiancé grimaced, clearly annoyed that most of their evening was gone. “Sorry. I set an alarm but I must have shut it off without actually waking.”

“It’s alright,” Fili’s fingers now found their way down to the nape of Kili’s neck and although it felt pretty loose already, he pressed in all the right places anyway, in a part-playful, part-affectionate experiment. “You know, it is now believed that throughout most of the history people used to have two sleeps: first sleep and a second sleep. And in between they’d get a handy hour or two for other activities.”

“Such as what?”

“Shagging, usually,” Fili grinned.

“So you’re saying that it’s now time to have sex?” Kili purred and Fili could practically feel the smile on his face.

“It could be arranged,” he agreed, making no move whatsoever. It was true - if Kili slid his hand a bit lower, kissed him, or even looked at him in that heated way of his, Fili would happily give him whatever he wanted. But as it was, Kili was a warm, perfect weight, draped half-across his chest, which needed to be loved, teased and kept close, and those were Fili’s real priorities.

Kili snorted, picking up one of Fili’s damp strands to twist around his finger. “I’d love to, but I’m actually starving. Have you eaten yet?”

“I must be losing my touch, if you’re more interested in food than having a satisfying romp!” He huffed, but his dimples would have given him away if Kili was watching. “Is this what married life will be like now?”

“I hope not, because I happen to like your touch rather a lot,” Kili used his damnable soft pornography voice again, and as if that wasn’t enough, he gave a playful little nip to the sensitive skin over Fili’s collar bone, making him rather interested in a matter of seconds.

Blue eyes peered down at brown, unapologetically mischievous. Fili arched an eyebrow.

“How about this: I’ll cook us something delicious while you take a shower. And I promise you a very good romp indeed before our second sleep,” Kili offered.

“Deal,” Fili decided, flopping back down onto the pillows. “Now all that is left to do, is to negotiate the price of your release and then you can have your dinner,” he declared, pulling Kili closer for emphasis.

He felt lips against his own a moment later and it felt too good to even try and fake resistance. Kili kissed him deeply, pushing himself higher for unlimited access, his fingertips sinking into Fili’s hairline, making him moan. They shared the kiss between them, each slick slide of the tongue, each gentle tilt of the head honed to perfection over years of enthusiastic practice. Kili took him apart, expertly using how pliant Fili already felt against him, overwhelming him with his own smell and taste.

“That won’t always work, you heathen!” Fili protested when he was allowed to breathe again, but he didn’t have the strength to open his eyes again, too drunk on the heady pleasure.

“Liar.” A playful little kiss to the corner of Fili’s mouth.

“Nope. It’s raining and probably cold out there, beyond the bed. We’re staying right here.”

“You know, if we don’t leave the bed, I think that’ technically still just the first sleep.” A nip to Fili’s jaw line.

Fili groaned, and with an ease of experience born of practice wrapped his fingers around the fine chain around Kili’s neck, pulling him down for another kiss. “It’s only because I love you, that I let you go,” he whispered, losing himself in the soft, dark eyes above him.

“It’s only because I love you, that I’m offering to feed you,” Kili laughed and lowered his crazy head to place a kiss over Fili’s heart. “Don’t worry – you can have more cuddles later, after I’ve had my wicked way with you.”

“I’m holding you to that,” Fili grumbled, but gave up and removed his hands.

With a final soft kiss, Kili pushed up and out of the bed –

\- freeing up the space for Fili to roll over and bury his face in his pillow.

“30 minutes, fiancé!”

“Hummmpf.”

 

\---


End file.
